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Palantir Technologies

  • 1,000 - 50,000 employees

Palantir Technologies Graduate Programs & Internships

  • Technology

What it does: Software Development

Mission: We partner with the most important institutions in the world to transform how they use data and technology.

Size and presence: Around 3200 globally in 15 locations.

Best known for: Our software has been used to stop terrorist attacks, discover new medicines, gain an edge in global financial markets, and more

The good bits: Great environment for self-starters, fantastic benefits and loved working with really smart people

The not so good bits: Palantir is an incredibly fast-paced environment; this can be great for single folks but is hard on people with families

The Palantir Technologies Story

2003–2008: Founding and early years

Though usually listed as having been founded in 2004, SEC filings state Palantir's official incorporation to be in May 2003 by Peter Thiel (co-founder of PayPal), who named the start-up after the "seeing stone" in Tolkien's legendarium. Thiel saw Palantir as a "mission-oriented company" which could apply software similar to PayPal's fraud recognition systems to "reduce terrorism while preserving civil liberties."

In 2004, Thiel bankrolled the creation of a prototype by PayPal engineer Nathan Gettings and Stanford University students Joe Lonsdale and Stephen Cohen. That same year, Thiel hired Alex Karp, a former colleague of his from Stanford Law School, as chief executive officer.

Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, the company initially struggled to find investors. According to Karp, Sequoia Capital chairman Michael Moritz doodled through an entire meeting, and a Kleiner Perkins executive lectured the founders about the inevitable failure of their company. The only early investments were $2 million from the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency's venture capital arm In-Q-Tel, and $30 million from Thiel himself and his venture capital firm, Founders Fund.

Palantir developed its technology by computer scientists and analysts from intelligence agencies over three years, through pilots facilitated by In-Q-Tel. The company stated computers alone using artificial intelligence could not defeat an adaptive adversary. Instead, Palantir proposed using human analysts to explore data from many sources, called intelligence augmentation.

2009: GhostNet and the Shadow Network

In 2009 and 2010 respectively, Information Warfare Monitor used Palantir software to uncover the GhostNet and the Shadow Network. The GhostNet was a China-based cyber espionage network targeting 1,295 computers in 103 countries, including the Dalai Lama’s office, a NATO computer and various national embassies. The Shadow Network was also a China-based espionage operation that hacked into the Indian security and defense apparatus. Cyber spies stole documents related to Indian security and NATO troop activity in Afghanistan.

2010–2012: Expansion

In April 2010, Palantir announced a partnership with Thomson Reuters to sell the Palantir Metropolis product as "QA Studio" (a quantitative analysis tool). On June 18, 2010, Vice President Joe Biden and Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag held a press conference at the White House announcing the success of fighting fraud in the stimulus by the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board (RATB). Biden credited the success to the software, Palantir, being deployed by the federal government. He announced that the capability will be deployed at other government agencies, starting with Medicare and Medicaid.

Estimates were $250 million in revenues in 2011.

2013–2016: Additional funding

A document leaked to TechCrunch revealed that Palantir's clients as of 2013 included at least twelve groups within the U.S. government, including the CIA, the DHS, the NSA, the FBI, the CDC, the Marine Corps, the Air Force, the Special Operations Command, the United States Military Academy, the Joint Improvised-Threat Defeat Organization and Allies, the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. However, at the time, the United States Army continued to use its own data analysis tool. Also, according to TechCrunch, the U.S. spy agencies such as the CIA and FBI were linked for the first time with Palantir software, as their databases had previously been "siloed."

In September 2013, Palantir disclosed over $196 million in funding according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing. It was estimated that the company would likely close almost $1 billion in contracts in 2014. CEO Alex Karp announced in 2013 that the company would not be pursuing an IPO, as going public would make "running a company like ours very difficult." In December 2013, the company began a round of financing, raising around $450 million from private funders. This raised the company's value to $9 billion, according to Forbes, with the magazine further explaining that the valuation made Palantir "among Silicon Valley’s most valuable private technology companies."

In December 2014, Forbes reported that Palantir was looking to raise $400 million in an additional round of financing, after the company filed paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission the month before. The report was based on research by VC Experts. If completed, Forbes stated Palantir's funding could reach a total of $1.2 billion. As of December 2014, the company continued to have diverse private funders, Ken Langone and Stanley Druckenmiller, In-Q-Tel of the CIA, Tiger Global Management, and Founders Fund, which is a venture Firm operated by Peter Thiel, the chairman of Palantir. As of December 2014, Thiel was Palantir's largest shareholder.

The company was valued at $15 billion in November 2014. In June 2015, BuzzFeed reported the company was raising up to $500 million in new capital at a valuation of $20 billion. By December 2015, it had raised a further $880 million, while the company was still valued at $20 billion. In February 2016, Palantir bought Kimono Labs, a startup which makes it easy to collect information from public facing websites.

In August 2016, Palantir acquired data visualization startup Silk.

2020

Palantir is one of four large technology firms to start working with the NHS on supporting COVID-19 efforts through the provision of software from Palantir Foundry and by April 2020 several countries have used Palantir technology to track and contain the contagion. Palantir also developed Tiberius, a software for vaccine allocation used in the United States.

In December 2020, Palantir was awarded a $44.4 million contract by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, boosting its shares by about 21%.

Culture & vibe

To achieve our best outcomes, Palantir needs people who bring a wide range of backgrounds, perspectives, and lived experiences.

We believe that all Palantirians share the responsibility of upholding our values of equity and inclusion.

Our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) team takes the lead in working to increase awareness and accountability and promote active allyship throughout Palantir.

We acknowledge that each member of our increasingly diverse community has their own needs, experiences, and opportunities. We center inclusion and listen to our community as we design policies, processes, and spaces.

We’re committed to promoting these values across the broader tech community. To give people from all backgrounds a chance to thrive in tech and support future leaders, we have several programs aimed at reducing barriers to access. We know it takes active effort to build an inclusive and equitable world where all voices are heard, and we’re committed to being part of the change.

Recruitment process

Instead of traditional career ladders, we celebrate individuals’ strengths, skills, and interests, from your first interview to your long-term trajectory.

We want every Palantirian to have an equal opportunity to learn and grow, and strive to ensure many pathways to success at Palantir. Instead of traditional career ladders, we celebrate individuals’ strengths, skills, and interests, from your first interview to your long-term trajectory.

Our interview process is designed to understand how your unique background can further our mission. As a new hire or intern, you’ll begin your Palantir journey with an onboarding program that introduces you to our company, products, and Palantirians from across the globe. Your onboarding cohort will become the first of many networks you’ll build during your time at Palantir.

We trust new Palantirians with responsibility and autonomy from day one. As a new hire or intern, you’ll be matched with a mentor who will guide you in building the skills you need to navigate Palantir. In our collaborative culture, you’ll find peers to support you through the toughest challenges.

Career prospects

We recognize that increasing diversity within the tech industry takes consistent, impactful action to increase access and opportunities for members of underrepresented communities.

Palantir Path

Palantir Path is a summer internship program designed to give college sophomores and juniors a path into a career in technology.

Global Scholarships

In an effort to reduce financial barriers to access, Palantir offers scholarships to support students from underrepresented communities in STEM who are beginning careers in technology.

Partnerships

We partner with several forward-thinking organizations who share our values in amplifying talented people from underrepresented backgrounds as they pursue careers in tech.

Conferences

We support the development of our internal community and sponsor employees to attend conferences dedicated to connecting and promoting under-tapped voices.

Remuneration

The average Palantir Technologies salary ranges from approximately $92,000 per year for a Recruiting Coordinator to $306,801 per year for a Business Cultivation Engineer. Palantir Technologies employees rate the overall compensation and benefits package good.

Benefits

Transparency

We hold accountability as a key component to diversity, equity, and inclusion at Palantir and support the effort to encourage transparency.

Take-What-You-Need Time Off Policy

We know the importance of taking time to recharge.

Family Support

We provide generous paid parental leave, where not covered by local law; a stipend for new parents; and family leave for taking care of loved ones.

Community

Our community is one of our greatest assets, and that extends beyond our colleagues.

Equity

We share responsibility for our mission and success, which is why we believe in collective ownership of our company and offer equity programs to eligible employees.

Mental Health and Wellbeing

Our holistic approach to supporting Palantirians’ mental health and wellbeing includes offering access to virtual therapy, coaching, complementary medicine, meditation, and fitness.

Healthcare

Our robust healthcare benefits for Palantirians and their families exceed the industry average.

Social Contributions

Learn More About Our Groups

Palamigos

Palamigos represents the Latinx and Hispanic community at Palantir.

Parents

Palantir Parents exists to foster openness and appreciation of the multiple dimensions of parenthood at every stage of the journey.

Palangenderqueer

PalanGenderQueer is a private group for people who do not identify as being cisgender.

Palnoir

PalNoir creates a safe, supportive, and inclusive community for employees that identify as Black or of African descent.

Controversies

In 2010, Hunton & Williams LLP allegedly asked Berico Technologies, Palantir, and HBGary Federal to draft a response plan to "the WikiLeaks Threat." In early 2011 Anonymous publicly released HBGary-internal documents, including the plan. The plan proposed that Palantir software would "serve as the foundation for all the data collection, integration, analysis, and production efforts." The plan also included slides, allegedly authored by HBGary CEO Aaron Barr, which suggested "[spreading] disinformation" and "disrupting" Glenn Greenwald’s support for WikiLeaks.

Palantir CEO Karp ended all ties to HBGary and issued a statement apologizing to "progressive organizations… and Greenwald … for any involvement that we may have had in these matters." Palantir placed an employee on leave pending a review by a third-party law firm. The employee was later reinstated.

Jobs & Opportunities

Locations With Jobs & Opportunities
  • Canberra ACT
Hiring candidates with qualifications in
B
Business & Management
C
Creative Arts
E
Engineering & Mathematics
I
IT & Computer Science
L
Law, Legal Studies & Justice
M
Medical & Health Sciences
P
Property & Built Environment
S
Sciences
T
Teaching & Education

Graduate Success Stories


  • Graduate stories
The very best thing about my job is that without the stuff that I do, the security of the place where I work would be dramatically worse off.

Rory Charlton

  • Graduate stories
The very best thing about my job is that without the stuff that I do, the security of the place where I work would be dramatically worse off.

Rory Charlton

  • Graduate stories
I like the diversity of the work—We have clients in many different sectors working on unique problems.

Amanda Chow

  • Graduate stories
I like the diversity of the work—We have clients in many different sectors working on unique problems.

Amanda Chow

  • Graduate stories
The very best thing about my job is that without the stuff that I do, the security of the place where I work would be dramatically worse off.

Rory Charlton

  • Graduate stories
The very best thing about my job is that without the stuff that I do, the security of the place where I work would be dramatically worse off.

Rory Charlton

  • Graduate stories
I like the diversity of the work—We have clients in many different sectors working on unique problems.

Amanda Chow

  • Graduate stories
I like the diversity of the work—We have clients in many different sectors working on unique problems.

Amanda Chow

Videos


The Role of a Forward Deployed Software Engineer

At Palantir, we build software that solves problems. Forward Deployed Software Engineers (FDSEs) are responsible for technical success at our deployments.

Stabilizing Chronically Homeless Individuals with Project Welcome Home

We're partnering with Santa Clara County, Abode Services, and UCSF researchers to support Project Welcome Home. Our goal is to provide 150-200 of the County’s highest-need chronically homeless individuals with permanent supportive housing.

The Role of a Forward Deployed Software Engineer

At Palantir, we build software that solves problems. Forward Deployed Software Engineers (FDSEs) are responsible for technical success at our deployments.

Stabilizing Chronically Homeless Individuals with Project Welcome Home

We're partnering with Santa Clara County, Abode Services, and UCSF researchers to support Project Welcome Home. Our goal is to provide 150-200 of the County’s highest-need chronically homeless individuals with permanent supportive housing.